Explained: Delhi’s new law to control private school fees and hidden charges Premium

Delhi cabinet approves bill to regulate school fees, sparking debate on fee hikes and enforcement in private schools.

On April 29, the Delhi cabinet approved the Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Bill, 2025, aiming to regulate fee structures across all 1,677 private unaided and government-aided schools in the capital. The Hindu examines why such legislation is crucial—and why it must avoid the fate of many existing laws that remain unenforced.

A steep increase in the annual school fees pushed Anna Mable Ritheesh to shift her son from an unaided private school in Delhi to a state government school. Two years later, her son’s grades improved without the family having to burn a hole in their pockets. “We used to pay anywhere between ₹17,000 to ₹20,000 a quarter – which summed to 20% of our (her husband included) earnings for the same period,” Anna told The Hindu. At the government school, she pays just ₹750 per month.

The substandard infrastructure in the private schools doesn’t justify the exorbitant fee structure, Anna says, adding that the teaching was not up to the par either. “When you seek admission in a private school, the first thing they ask is not about the child, but about your job and monthly income,” Anna said. “Their only concern is money.”  Unlike these schools, the government schools are regularly updating their online portals, making daily activities of students easily accessible to parents, she adds.

Over the past three weeks, as private schools and unaided private schools announced steep fees hike as much as 40-80%, enraged parents took part in citywide protests, triggering political action. ​Unaided private schools are run on Delhi government’s land leased from various departments including the Delhi Development Authority or Land and Development Office for subsidized rates.

They also enjoy freedom from property tax and minimal regulatory enforcement. Parents allege the campuses are sublet for commercial operations, violating norms. Ashok Agarwal, a Supreme Court advocate and an education activist, talks about a private school that paid only ₹20,001 as lease rent, fixed more than five decades ago, to operate on six acres of government land.

The Delhi government is intensifying its crackdown on unauthorized fee hikes by private schools, particularly those operating on government-leased land. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has declared a zero tolerance policy towards schools that increase fees without approval. She emphasized that any school found violating regulations will face strict action and directed the Directorate of Education (DOE) to conduct an inquiry into such complaints.

The hike comes in many hidden ways. One private school announced a 30 percent fee increase, raised the monthly bus commute fee from ₹2,500 to ₹4,950, and introduced five different uniforms for children for the academic year 2024–25. “From KG to Class 8, the fee for one student is ₹17,000 a month. The total expenses amount to about half of the combined monthly earnings of me and my husband,” said Daksha Anand, head of the parents’ association of the school.